The second article I read was about Tim Laman, a wildlife photographer. Tim has a doctorate in biology from Harvard and has done many articles for National Geographic. He has training as a field biologist, so he can go deeper into his subjects lives, and believes photography can have a positive impact on conservation. His education and achievements are impressive, and so is his photography and lifestyle. The article gave good insight into the life a professional photographer.
Tim said it takes about four or five days to travel from his home in the U.S. to his field location - a rain forest camp in New Guinea. This could include a day of domestice flights and two of international travel. This sounds to me like a lot of sitting and waiting, and plane rides are never particularly entertaining, or relaxing. After getting to the site, he has to spend several days scouting for the animal he is looking for, then he builds a blind. To get the picture, he gets up at around four. He spends three or four hours in the blind, and says that once an expedition is in full swing, he will have three or more blinds for different species. He also said the lighting in the rain forest, where he usually works, is not good, and some assignments, like photographing wild monkeys, are extremely difficult.
In all, it seems like it takes like it takes a lot of work, time and devotion to get that one good shot. The life of a professional photographer is not just hiking around and taking pictures. Tim spends four or five months of the year away from home, and still photographs when he is home. His "personal challenge" is taking pictures of the iconic Walden Pond, which is five miles from his home. He spent quite some time trying to make amazing and interesting images of a simple pond. His life, it seems, revolves around photography, just like any professional photographer's should.
"The Wildlife Photojournalist", Outdoor Photographer, August 2010 by Mark Edward Harris
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